DURYEA - Vice President Joe Biden wrapped his arm around a tearful Jimmy Pliska on Friday morning as they looked at photos of what the man's Chittenden Street home looked like before the swollen Lackawanna River rolled inside last week.

Biden offered consolation and encouragement as Pliska, his wife and two children pondered whether to rebuild the home that has been in the family since 1914 or leave Duryea for fear another flood will disrupt their lives.

"You'll redo it again, man. You'll redo it again," Biden said. "You will do this again, we'll help you."

Those words, a preview of the message Biden shared with an entire neighborhood later, brought a glimmer of hope to the devastated borough - at least for a few hours. But when Biden left, the piles of mud-soaked trash still filled the sidewalks, the smell of spilled heating oil still hung heavy in the air and the dirty remnants of the river still stained hundreds of homes.

While seeds of hope were sewn by Biden's visit, the misery Tropical Storm Lee forced upon Northeastern Pennsylvania remained.

Jimmy Pliska's wife, Kathleen, is not sure her family will stay in Duryea after the water rose 5 feet on the first floor of their home, forcing them to strip their walls to the wooden frames. The river stopped just below a photo of Jimmy Pliska's grandparents, who previously owned the home.

"We're in doubt," Kathleen Pliska said as Biden met with more families uprooted by the river. "We just don't know which end is up at this point. We have to sit down and get our heads on straight and talk about what we really want to do."

Across the street from the Pliskas' home, Biden placed his hands on Barbara Miller's shoulders and brought the woman to tears as he

assured her help would come after water claimed her new furniture, refrigerator and stove less than a year after she moved into her home.

"He said, 'Don't worry, help is coming,'" Miller said afterward. "But we need the help now."

Dozens more from the neighborhood gathered as Biden stepped to a podium and observed that he saw many of the same looks of loss during the 1972 flooding from Tropical Storm Agnes.

Biden used his time to promise the federal government and state and local officials would help the community rebuild. When he finished, he introduced Craig Fugate, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The crowd applauded.

"Normally, people don't applaud when I show up because something bad has happened," Fugate said. "And that's why we're here."

It was a blunt reminder of how serious the situation is in devastated communities such as West Pittston, Plymouth Township and Shickshinny, as well as inside Gertrude Yachna's 105 Chittenden St. home.

The 79-year-old woman, her two sisters and her disabled nephew have been staying in a hotel since the flood, and Yachna said she still sees the water rushing through the neighborhood in her dreams at night.

"We need lots of help," Yachna said through sobs.

Biden visited with Yachna's family and looked through the trash tossed outside her home. When he stumbled upon a binder filled with baseball cards, he urged the family to keep them.

"They're all wet," he said, "but don't throw them out."

A man eventually moved the cards from the debris pile and onto the stoop of the home. Yachna hopes she can return, too.

"My sister said she was born here, and she said she wants to die here," Yachna said. "I guess we all feel that way."

Despite Biden's encouragement, some were unsure the neighborhood would return in full.

"We're all like family down here," said Sally Guzik, whose Elm Street home was damaged by water and a leaking oil tank. "I just don't know how we're ever going to get back together as one group here. If I have to move, I don't know. Coming back to visit my friends here is going to be a heartache for me."

Borys Krawczeniuk, staff writer, contributed to this report.

astaub@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2052

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